A Million Ways (To Say I Love You)
by annavale23
Summary: Collection of oneshots/drabbles inspired by prompts from Skyeward Month over on tumblr. Please read and review! :) [Now Complete]
1. Chapter 1: No Goodbyes (Prompt: Angst)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Two, Day One.**

 _ **Prompt: Hurt/Comfort; Angst**_

* * *

 **'No Goodbyes'**

Grant knew that pacing up and down the corridor would not help anyone, but he couldn't help it. There was a ball of fear growing inside him, and Grant knew that pacing was the only way to stop himself punching a wall, which would solve nothing.

"Ward, she'll be fine." Simmons says softly from where she sits, in a red plastic chair in this small waiting room. Fitz is sitting next to her, his head on her shoulder as he dozes.

"You don't know that." Grant's response is crisp as his boots squeak on the lino floor.

"May and Coulson will be back soon." Simmons tells him. "They'll have the news."

"Skye could be dying, Simmons!" Grant blurts out, coming to a sudden stop. "Do you get that?"

"She's not going to die." Simmons sounds confident, but Grant can't believe her. The image of Skye's bloody and battered body is imprinted onto the back of his mind: her hair coloured grey from the ash and dust.

It's his fault she was caught in the blast. It's his fault if anything happens to her.

"Ward, she wasn't that near the explosion." Simmons says, her voice still confident. Fitz's head slumps slightly, and Simmons adjusts her shoulder so his head has a better makeshift pillow.

"She'll be fine." Simmons repeats. "Completely fine."

Grant resists the urge to tell her that she doesn't know that. She doesn't know if Skye will be fine, or what injures she might have. That's the problem: they don't know anything. May and Coulson are the ones talking to the doctors: they're the ones who will deliver the news, be it bad or good.

"Jemma." Grant says in a quiet voice. Simmons looks at him with understanding eyes, and Grant sees worry there: the same worry that's in his own eyes. "She'll be okay, right?" He knows it's selfish to ask Simmons to promise something she can't possibly know the answer to. But God dammit, he's worried. He's scared, like he's never been before. Because Skye simply can't die, not before he's had the chance... She just can't die. Grant won't allow it.

The door behind him opens, and Grant turns around to see May and Coulson walking through the doors. He searches their faces for any sort of sign about Skye. Meanwhile, Fitz stirs awake from Simmons' shoulder.

"Skye?" He can barely manage to form the name. His heart beats loudly in his ears, almost drowning out all noise.

And then a endless silence fills them instead as Coulson shakes his head, as May sweeps crystal tears away from her dark lashes. Grant can do nothing but stare at Coulson, stare at him until he tells them it's all a joke: Skye can't really be dead, can she? Not Skye, who wears rainbow socks to bed. Not Skye, who can beat him hands down in battleship. Not Skye, with her huge brown eyes and her cheeky smile that makes him feel all confused but most of all-

Grant feels a pained, primal scream bubble up in his throat, and it takes all his strength to swallow it.

They let him see the body.

Simmons and Fitz refuse to, as they stand weepy eyed, but Grant's face is as solid as steel as he nods yes.

May touches his shoulder, asking him if he wants her to go with him. Grant shrugs her off.

Skye doesn't look real, he realises, lying on the morgue bed. She looks like she's sleeping. Grant stares at her face for a while, before he closes his eyes to stop the burning of tears.

"Skye, wake up." His voice is quiet, strained and broken. "Come on, Rookie, you can't be dead, right?"

Silence answers him.

"Who's going to beat me at battleship?" He reaches out to take her hand in his. Her flesh is cold and dry, baring the coolness of death.

"I wanted to tell you something, Skye." Grant says softly. "And I couldn't find the words, but- hear goes."

He takes a deep breath.

"I think I love you, Skye."

Grant Ward allows himself to stand there for approximately 5 more seconds before he walks out of the room and promptly breaks his fist by punching the nearest wall.

The screams from earlier finally push past his lips, and this time, he doesn't bother trying to hide them.

* * *

 **Well, this turned out more angsty that I set out for.**

 **Hopefully, I'll be uploading a one shot/drabble every day this week, depending on the prompts and my muse.**

 **Anyway, if any of you are reading Anchor, but are wondering where the next update is... I'm working on it! The whole news about Skye being called Daisy from now on killed my inspiration (but she's giving up her whole identity!). I'm trying to get back into it, and hopefully writing this should help me.**

 **Hopefully.**

 **Leave a review? :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Dancing (Prompt: Romance)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Two, Day Two.**

 _ **Prompt: Romance/Fluff**_

* * *

 **'Dancing Under The Stars'**

Skye doesn't think that she's ever been this nervous.

As Jemma fusses over her hair one last time, Skye's heart pounds hard in her chest. Eventually, she shoos Jemma's hands away.

"Jemma, it's just a mission." She reminds the bio-chemist. Jemma gives her a once over, before leaning forward to adjust the spaghetti sleeve of her dress.

"I know, but you need to look the part!" Jemma protests. "This is your first real undercover assignment, remember."

Earlier that day, Coulson had told her that she would be going undercover at some kind of fancy ball. Skye had been excited: she loves a chance to dress up and have fun, especially with a dress as gorgeous as the one presented to her. Made of some silky material, it's a river of emerald green, light playing shadows beautifully over it. To her, it's more than a dress. It's pure beauty.

Then Coulson had told her who she'd be going with.

Grant Ward.

8 months ago, Coulson and Grant had entered an agreement in which Grant would re-join the team to avoid the T.A.H.I.T.I procedure. None of the original team was happy about the arrangement, but Skye had perhaps adapted to his presence the easiest. It was simpler to tell herself that than to admit that maybe she might have some kind of feelings towards him bubbling inside her heart.

The door knocks, and Jemma darts to open it. Her gaze cools upon seeing Grant, although Skye can't keep her eyes off him.

He's in a suit, not much different from usual, but somehow it looks… sleeker, more fitted. His broad shoulders seem more firm; his stance more straight. Skye feels a pink tinge colouring her cheeks as she moves her approving eyes over him. Once her eyes meet his, she blushes harder, noticing that he's caught her looking.

"Are you ready?" Grant speaks over Jemma's head. Skye nods, moving forward, her dress swishing against her skin. Jemma steps back, and touches her shoulder.

"Be careful out there, Skye." She tells her softly, and Skye smiles at her, feeling her earrings bob in her ears. She not used to such dangling earrings, but boy do they look good with this dress.

"You look… wow." Grant seems lost for words, ands Skye's smile grows.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Robot." She links her arm through his, feeling slightly unsteady in her heels. Grant blinks a few times, before muttering a quick 'thank you'.

* * *

At the party, Skye feels out of place almost immediately. She's overwhelmed by the people, by the noise, by the mere poshness of this place. Grant knows how to navigate the crowds well, seamlessly blending in with the stuck-up people.

"And this is my wife, Daisy." Grant says smoothly. Skye blinks, being jerked out of her thoughts.

"Err, hi." Skye says lamely, looking at the woman and man in front of her. Their targets, she realises. The mission is to keep them occupied while May completes the other half of the mission. "I mean, hello." She says, more confidentially.

"Hello." The woman smiles warmly at her. "I'm Madilyn. Madilyn Baxter."

Grant and Skye keep socialising with the couple, and Skye finds herself having to fake all her responses. She's just really not interested in this woman's life, especially when her and Grant are just the distraction. But when the mission is over, Grant insists that they should stay for a while, as not to arouse suspicion. Skye doesn't mind much, especially when he hands her a glass of champagne. She attempts to sip at it, before giving in and gulping.

"Want to dance?" He asks her shyly a few moments after she's finished her glass. Skye glances at him, her eyes surprised.

"What? Why?" She asks him. "The mission's over, isn't it?" Grant shifts slightly – awkwardly, Skye realises.

"I just thought you might like to dance." His words are muttered, his eyes dropped from hers. Is he – _embarrassed?_ Maybe it took him a lot of effort to ask her to dance, she thinks. So maybe her response was disheartening for him. Skye takes a deep breath before clearing her throat.

"Sure, why not?" She says brightly, holding out her hand after setting the now empty glass on a nearby surface. Grant looks pleased, she thinks, as he takes her hand and leads her onto the dance floor.

The champagne does nothing to help her already terrible dancing skills, and Grant has to keep correcting her ever so often until the slow music comes on.

Skye's arms wrap around his neck instinctively, and his lock around her waist. Skye flinches slightly as his skin grazes her back: this dress has a low back, so his flesh is against hers.

"I had a nice time." She murmurs to him, her eyes focusing on his. Grant swallows.

"Me too." He says, his voice low and husky. Skye blinks her eyes bigger at him, and she feels the alcohol in her blood give her fresh courage.

"I had a really nice time." She repeats. "And there's only one thing that could make this whole night better."

"What?" Grant asks, his pupils dilating.

"A kiss." Skye feels daring, that's why she suggests it. The faint rush of alcohol is powering her every word. "It's the perfect way to make this night amazing."

"A kiss, huh?" Grant's voice gets huskier, and his head dips down slightly. Before she knows it, he's pressed a small, sweet kiss to her lips.

When he pulls away, Skye knows her cheeks are a flaming red.

"Is your night perfect now?" Grant asks her. Skye smiles, tightening her arms around his neck.

"It is."

* * *

 **Sorry for the late upload: this was meant to be up yesterday, but of course FanFiction decided to have an error in which I couldn't get into my account. Day Three will be uploaded later, once I've put the finishing touches to it!**

 **Thanks to everyone who's followed, favourited and reviewed so far! :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Scarfs (Prompt: Humour)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Two, Day Three**

 _ **Prompt: Humour**_

 **Note: Before you go on and read this, let me warn you that I am absolutely _terrible_ at writing humour. So this ended up being super awkward, stilted and rushed. Humour is just not my strong suit, but I hope you enjoy anyway!**

* * *

 **'Scarfs In The Heat'**

"Hey Skye, what's up with that scarf?" Fitz inquires as he munches on some burnt toast. Skye instinctively touches the cotton scarf encircling her neck, flushing slightly.

"This scarf? Nothing, nothing." Skye says, maybe a little too quickly as she pours some coffee into a mug. In her haste, a little bit of the coffee splashes onto her hand, burning her.

"Skye, it's like, 30 degrees out there." Fitz points out, still chewing on the toast. Skye gives him a blank look, and Fitz shakes his head. "I mean, 86 Fahrenheit." He corrects himself. "You damn Americans."

"Fitz, _you're in America._ Use our words." She tells him, sipping from her coffee, which burns her tongue. Fitz is right, it _is_ hot. To be honest, she's sweating. Her skin itches from underneath this thick cotton scarf, but she can't take it off. It's better to suffer than to take it off.

"So what's with the scarf?" Fitz swallows the toast. "It's so hot, you've got to be sweating."

"I'm fine, Fitz." Skye supresses her annoyance. The heat is getting to her.

Grant strolls into the kitchen a moment or two later, a lazy smirk appearing on his lips as he looks at Skye. She shoots him a glare in response, touching the scarf once more.

"Hey, Ward, why's Skye wearing that scarf? Do you know?" Fitz immediately asks. Grant leans against a counter, still smirking. He looks as cool as ever: but of course he can be. He's not being forced to keep this damn scarf on.

"Yep." He grins. Fitz's head shoots up. Skye keeps glaring.

"Why? Come on, tell me!" Fitz pesters. "I wanna know! I wanna know!"

"Stop whining, Fitz." Skye tells him. "You're acting like a baby."

"Am not." Fitz pouts. "Am not."

"Are too." Skye teases him, while Grant just keeps smirking. Skye feels the sweat gathering under the material of the scarf, and she resists the urge to tear it completely off.

* * *

When Skye finally is able to escape to the coolness of her bunk, she finally gives into to the urge, unwrapping the material from around her neck and casting it aside. It hits the opposite wall, and Skye sighs in relief as air finally gets to her hot itchy skin.

She turns around with a glare already fixed onto her eyes as she hears her bunk door open from behind her, the sign that Grant's stepped inside.

"I'm freaking boiling because of you!" Skye complains, hitting his shoulder gently. "And why couldn't you just get me coffee if you were getting up?"

"Because." Grant shrugs, grinned mischievously. "You never asked me."

"This is all fault." Skye mutters darkly. "It's thanks to you that I can't leave this bunk: all because of this damn thing!" She gestures to the not so small mark on her pale neck. Grant continues to smirk.

"Hey, think of it this way." He says. "At least Coulson didn't see it."

* * *

 **So, I'm cringing right now.**

 **Anyway, another quick note: tomorrow's prompt it smut. I'm going to say now that I just don't write smutty fanfiction, so I'm hoping to write another fluff/romance drabble thing, since I still want to write _something._**

 **Thanks to all my followers, favouriters and reviewers! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Monster (Prompt: Subjective)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Two, Day Four.**

 _ **Prompt: (it was Smut, buy since I don't write smut, here's a little short angst instead!)**_

* * *

 **'Monster'**

"You said you'd always tell me the truth."

Grant rubs the sleep from his eyes, blinking at the girl at his door who's just spoken.

"What?" He says sleepily: it is 3 am, he notices, after a quick glance at the clock.

"You said you'd always tell me the truth, right?" Skye repeats impatiently. "I need you to answer something truthfully for me."

If someone had told Grant Ward that rejoining SHIELD would also mean losing all of his sleep, he would have ran away faster than a gazelle from Coulson.

"Skye, can't this wait until morning?" Grant swallows his yawn, blinking his eyes a few more times.

"No." He notices that her eyes are red. Red... Like she's been crying? Grant forces his eyes to wake up.

"Skye, are you okay?" He asks with concern.

"I'm fine!" She snaps. "I just need to ask you something, and I need you to answer it truthfully, okay?"

"Fine." Grant steps back. Skye stares at him in confusion. "Come in." He says, and Skye slips inside the room, brushing her hands over her eyes. "Now, what did you want to ask me?"

"Am I a monster?" She asks.

Grant stares.

"No! Why would you think that?" He responds immediately, frowning slightly. "Did someone day that to you?"

"No, but I killed Trip!" She cries, her voice suddenly loud. "Ward, _I_ _killed Trip._ I'm _worse_ than a monster!" She wraps her arms right around herself, as if she's holding herself together.

"Where's all this coming from Skye?" Grant keeps frowning. He's heard about what happened to her in Puerto Rico, about her powers.

"Coulson went to speak with Trip's mother." Skye half whispers. "He had to tell her that her son was dead. And he died because of _me._ So of course I'm a monster!"

"Skye, you are not a monster." Grant tells her firmly. He almost reaches out to her, but stops himself just in time. "You didn't kill Trip; the Diviner killed him."

"How about all the people I killed with that earthquake?" Skye insists. "Huh? It was my powers that killed them! I'm a monster, Ward!" Grant sees that Skye's going down a destructive path. She's guilty, he sees. Her chest heves with barely suppressed sobs.

"If you're a monster, Skye, at least you killed those people by accident." His words are soft. Skye's huge eyes stare back at him, barely visible in the dark. "Sure, you're a murderer. But at least you're not a killer. Like me."

* * *

 **Only a short update today, but I found it a little hard to write since I was a little busy.**

 **Anyway, thanks again to everyone who's even looking at this fic.**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review! :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Shot (Prompt: Freeform)

**Written for Skyward Month, Week Two, Day Five.**

 ** _Prompt: Freeform_**

* * *

 **'Shot/My Last Moments'**

In her last moments on this earth, Skye had always pictured that maybe she would be around the people she loved, if she was lucky. Maybe May, or Coulson. Hell, at this point, she would settle for Cal. Because she would rather have anyone but the person who she was clutching the hand of.

The one and only Grant Ward.

His brown eyes don't look at her, as they gaze over the damage blown into her stomach. She coughs weakly, blood splattering her pale, cracked lips. She tries to squeeze Ward's hand, but she can't muster the strength. All around her, she can hear gunfire, loud and pounding in her ears. It makes her feeling sick.

"Okay, Skye." He mutters, his hand tight on hers as his other hand hovers other her wounds. "We can get you through this."

"Wa…Ward." She manages to get out of her heaving lungs. "I'm too…"

"Shut up, Skye." He cuts her off. "I'm not going to let you die." His eyes still don't meet hers. "I'm going to save you."

 _It's too late, you jackass._ Skye thinks, her mouth no longer making words, only pathetic little noises of pain as Ward rips off his shirt, sliding his jacket over his bare chest, and pressing it against her stomach. Then he grabs her jacket from the floor and ties it around her crumpling stomach, and ignores Skye's small scream. He slips his hands under her legs and shoulders, and picks her up, cradling her close to her chest. Skye bites down on her lip hard to stop herself from screaming.

The next few moments – which could be hours, which could be seconds – pass in a kaleidoscope of pain. The last few hours of her life flash behind her eyes. How she got here, with a bullet buried in her stomach and in the arms of Grant Ward, her nemesis. Skye can't help but let the tears streaming down her face. She's in so much pain. So much pain, and it's all because of them. And now, she's going to die, in the most pain possible, with Grant Ward. She makes a strangled noise deep in her throat, and Ward makes a small shushing noise deep in his chest.

"Skye, I'm sorry." He apologises. "I'll fix you. I promise."

"Just… kill me." She begs, her fingers sodden with the blood pouring out of her stomach. "Please. I'm in… so much… pain."

"Shush, Skye." Ward ignores her pleas. "I can save you. I know I can. You don't have to die."

 _My stomach is ripped to shreds. There's a bullet inside me. Blood is coming out of me faster than the Niagara Falls. For fuck's sake, I'm going to die, Ward!_ Skye wills him to hear her. _So please, just end my life before I die in complete agony!_

But Ward's not a telepath. He doesn't hear her, and instead keeps carrying her towards hell knows where. Because Ward is stubborn. And Skye will die in his arms, away from the people she loves and cares about, all because of her own stupid pride.

She knows without looking that the shirt Ward packed into her stomach is already coated in blood. She sees without really seeing Ward putting her in a car, before he climbs into the driving side. Skye's now lying on her back in the back of the car, making small pathetic noises.

"I know someone who can help you." Ward mutters to himself. "I won't let you die, Skye."

Skye wants to tell him that she wants to die: after this what's left for her? Will anyone even care about her again? She might be better left off dead in a ditch.

But no. Ward is an idiot, who's going to make her suffer in her last few hours. Hell, maybe she deserves it, after what she did to him: tricking him into giving up information, allowing Coulson to send him to his brother... Sure, that worked out for him in the end, but she still was willing to send him to his death. So maybe she does deserve this.

She's tired. Her fingers are trembling, and she long stopped noticing the pain in her chest when she takes halting breaths. Skye used to be afraid of death, as of it was the monster in all the fairy tales. Even now, she's sort of afraid. But maybe death is the best option for her. She knows that Ward won't be able to save her. She knows that she'll die here, wherever he takes her, covered in her own blood, her face streaked with tears. She won't be beautiful in death. She'll be like every dead body: dead. A corpse. A hunk of a human who doesn't even deserve a funeral. Not after what she did...

* * *

 **This is the last post of this week! But I'll be back for next week.**

 **This is an idea I've had for a while, so I decided to try and write the start out for this prompt. I'd love to extend it into a full fledged story, but I really have no idea where it would go. So (for now) it'll stay as only a one shot.**

 **Thanks to all my reviewers! I love hearing what you guys think! :)**

 **Also, thanks to all my favourites and followers.**

 **See you next week!**


	6. Chapter 6: Skye, Why? (AU:ReversedRoles)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Three, Day One.**

 _ **AU: Reversed Roles (Skye is HYDRA, Grant is SHIELD)**_

* * *

 **'Skye, Why?'/'It Is Reversed'**

Bile rises in Grant's throat as he stumbles back, Koenig's slack-jawed face implanted on the back of his eyeballs.

He can't even imagine how she could have done this: Skye, who's basically as weak as a _kitten_ , garrotting this man and shoving him in between two shelves. Grant turns away from the body – _don't think of it as a person, don't think of what Skye did –,_ taking a few shallow, almost panicked breaths. Everything was going so _perfect_ too. Skye and he were kissing, and finally Grant hoped that for once something would work out for him. That maybe this might be _it_ : the thing that changes him from the socially awkward 'Robot' to… to _Skye's_ socially awkward robot.

But now there's a _dead body_. A _dead body_ in the _store room_.

It's clear to him that Skye killed him. The blood on her neck proves that, and the fact that it's only them here alone right now. Because May took off.

Or… did she? If Skye could kill Koenig, does that mean she killed May too? Suspicion prickles on the back of his neck.

 _May's the Calvary. There's no way anyone could get the jump on her._ Grant tries to reassure himself. _Especially not Skye._

But he doesn't really know Skye now, does he? The Skye he knows couldn't have killed Koenig. So maybe this Skye, the _real_ Skye, could have.

Grant vaguely hears himself hyperventilate. He can't hear anything clearly right now as the panic rises up. Skye could have killed May. Skye actually killed Koenig.

Skye could try to kill him.

After all, what does she need him for? He's basically just the hired muscle, and Skye's clearly strong enough to look after herself. So logically, killing him is the perfect next step. What would HYDRA need him for? Why is Skye loyal to them? Grant closes his eyes, trying to bring himself back under control. He needs to remain _in control_. He reviews the facts as he presses his forehead against the cold wall.

Number one: Skye is HYDRA.

Number two: Skye is a murderer.

Number three: _He's alone with her._

"Grant?" Her voice cuts through the silence that follows that last point, and Grant freezes before glancing down at the tablet map in his hands. It shows Skye a corridor over, so he thinks fast, dropping the tablet to the floor as he scrambles out of the room. Quickly, knowing he has little time, he ducks into one of the side rooms, seeing the pull down window/picture things. It takes him 5 seconds to rip his message into it before switching the design to the unmarked version. Hopefully someone will notice it and see the message before it's too late. He steps out of the room, barely managing to shut the door before-

"Grant," Skye smiles, and Grant jumps about half a mile into the air. "Hey, you." She keeps smiling.

"Sk…Skye." Grant stumbles over his words in fright. _You've got to get a grip, or she'll know that you're onto her!_

"Where'd you disappear off to?" She asks, laying a hand onto his arm. Grant stares at it for half a second before it clicks.

 _She's just like a mark._ He just has to play a part until he sees an opportunity. That's all. _I just have to do my job._

"Bathroom." Grant slips into an easy smile. "Don't worry, I wasn't running away." He teases lightly, even slipping an arm around her shoulders. He has to make it seem believable, after all.

"I thought I scared you off for a moment there." Skye gazes up at him. "I know you're not the most…" She hesitates, looking down. _She's not the Skye you know._ He repeats in the back of his head. _She's not the Skye you know._

"You'll never scare me off Skye." Grant promises even as Koenig's body flashes behind his eyes. "I'm not that easily scared, you know."

"That's good to hear." Skye's eyes meet his again. "Anyway, Coulson called. He wants us to unlock the information."

Grant's blood runs cold. What are the chances that Coulson actually called? It's more likely that Skye's taking him somewhere to kill him. Or maybe she'll take him to HYDRA. Either way, he's dead if he goes with her.

"Oh, okay." Grant's expression shows none of his inner thoughts. "Where do we have to go then?"

"I set the encryption to unlock at a specific location." Skye answers. "So Coulson says we should head there to unlock it."

"Are we meeting them there then?" Grant inquires innocently, watching to see how Skye will lie. He knows that if he leaves with Skye, he's going to have to fight his way free. Can he hurt Skye? Probably. The real question is if he _wants_ to hurt Skye. A part of him is still in heaven that she kissed him, even as Koenig's body haunts him. But Grant doesn't want to die. He knows he wants to live. So if – no, _when_ – it comes down to it, he's going to have to fight her.

"No, we're going to meet up with them afterwards." Skye shakes her head. "It's quicker that way."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want HYDRA getting us, would we?" Grant says, mainly as a test. How will Skye react to the name that holds her allegiance?

"You can fly, right?" Skye asks him instead of responding to his question. "Since May left-"

"You said you saw her leave." Grant interrupts. "Did she say where she was going?"

Skye shakes her head again. _That doesn't mean she killed May, it doesn't._

"Anyway, let's go." She offers him her hand, gently shrugging his arm off her shoulder. Grant swallows, steeling himself as he slips his hand into hers. _You're a murderer, Skye._ "Maybe when this is all done… we can go back to what we were doing before." She suggests shyly, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

Instead of responding verbally, Grant leans down and crushes his lips against hers, a voice screaming in the back of his mind. This isn't the first time he's kissed a murderer, not by a long shot, but it's the first time that he's felt repulsed by what he's doing.

 _Skye, why? Why did you have to be HYDRA?_

Skye blinks up at him with her liquid chocolate eyes, looking as innocent as a baby deer. _You're a murderer._

"Let's go."

* * *

"Grant, I love you!" Skye tells him a little while later even as she ties his wrists to the stair banister. He can't fight back against her: Grant can feel his eyes getting heavier as the drug she managed to inject him with takes effect. Mike Peterson stands a watchful guard. Could he be an ally? Grant doesn't think so, not with that eye implant. He's under it's orders, shown by how Peterson just tackled him and injected him with the drug. He's Skye's protection. So Grant is totally and utterly on his own, defenceless as the sedative takes hold. He has no idea if he'll ever wake up again.

"Is that… Is that why you're doin' this?" Grant finds it hard to talk. His tongue is going numb. "…'Cause if that is why, then… this isn't _love_ , Skye. It's… _obsession._ "

Skye's pained look is the last thing he sees before his eyes shut.

* * *

When he next fights Skye, he realises how much she's been holding back. How much she's been _lying_ to them.

"What about the shooting, Skye?" He yells at her, blocking her next punch easily. "Did you really let yourself get nearly killed for HYDRA? For the 'miracle drug'?" How could she do this? How could she _betray_ them?

How could she betray _him?_

He can still see her smile, feel her lips against his, feel his heart beat faster as she closed in to kiss him. He can still see her lying like a bloody version of Snow White inside that cryochamber. He can still feel the powerlessness he felt then. But-

That powerlessness is no longer there. His anger lends him strength as he throws move after move at Skye, forcing her to work harder to evade him. Her breath comes in short huffs.

"Garrett needs it!" She shouts back. "Grant, he was your S.O., and he's _dying._ Do you feel nothing for him?"

One of his punches finally connect, hitting her down, splitting her lip wide open. She skids her hands against the dusty floor, her palms scraping, and is about to climb back up, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Then a banshee like howl pushes past her lips as he staples her foot to the ground, before knocking her straight out with the staple gun.

"No." He says quietly, even though there's no-one to hear him.

* * *

In their new base, Vault D is a place Grant can always feel.

It has a presence that he's always aware of, that creeping feeling across his shoulders and the burning sense of shame when his feelings to that presence rise up.

Moving on since the day the old SHIELD fell have not been easy. But Grant thinks that maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to forget about that presence in the basement. He thinks that maybe he'll be able to look at a computer and not see her; he thinks he'll be able to hear the words 'I love you' without thinking of her. But most of all, Grant Ward thinks that he will never have to see the woman who took his heart and shredded it into tiny pieces with 5 letters; one word. _HYDRA_.

He is naïve to think that, but he doesn't know it quite yet.

"Sir, you asked for me?" Grant peeks his head around the side of the door. May and Coulson stand there, and beckon him in.

"We have a job for you." Coulson says, his eyes stiff. Grant looks back uncertainly.

"We need you to talk to Skye."

* * *

 **I loved writing this AU! I think it's one of my absolute favourite one-shots I've ever wrote. If you want to read an extended version, with new chapters, check out my new fic _Inverted_. Since I enjoyed it so much, I wrote more!**

 **This week is AU week, so I'll (hopefully) be uploading one AU one-shot a day.**

 **If you liked, please review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Belong (AU: Secret Warriors)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Three, Day Two.**

 _ **(Prompt: Quake & Hellfire: Secret Warriors)**_

* * *

 **'Where We Belong'**

Skye doesn't think she'll ever get used to the name the new recruits call her.

 _Quake._

It's a name that commands respect among them: she's Agent Daisy 'Skye' Johnson, the first 'Secret Warrior', the first real SHIELD-pro Inhuman.

But Quake… though she responds to it, it's not her name. It's the name of the power inside her; it's the name that belongs that HYDRA helped create, even as she now uses it to bring them down.

"Look, it's Quake!" She hears some of her students whisper as she strides to the front of this small gathering, her hair tied into a tight ponytail.

"I can't believe she's actually going to teach us." Another murmurs. "Isn't she like, the most powerful Inhuman out there?"

Skye almost smiles at the student's naivety: she's by no means the strongest Inhuman out there. She's just the most well-known one.

The Secret Warriors are stills secret, no matter of her popularity that's bombing online. Clips, photos and even stories of her are of high demand online. She's known as the superhero Quake, whose powers rival the Avengers. The public only know of one other of the Secret Warriors than her: her partner, known by the alias Hellfire.

"Hey." Skye clears her throat. The Secret Warriors were established over 6 years ago: Skye's getting older. But they always need to help others control their powers, and some of these students in front of her could end up being part of the group. It's her job to see which candidates will have that potential. "As some of you might know, I'm Agent Skye." She prefers for the students to call her by her real name, not to one she uses as her 'Inhuman name'. "Today, I and two of my colleagues will be talking you through your new abilities, and we'll give you the basics on how to control them. My said colleagues are running late, so until they arrive, have you got any questions?"

Skye never thought she'd enjoy this part of the Secret Warriors: teaching. Since she had to discover her powers on her own, she swore that she'd never let another go through that alone, not if she could help it. And as she started to teach, she realised that it was another talent of hers. Lincoln likes to joke it's because she just gets to talk: one of her favourite activities.

The mentioned Inhuman jogs up to her before she can accept a question, his hair looking ruffled.

"Sorry I'm late!" He calls. "I'm Lincoln, guys! But you might know me better as Sparkplug." He grins cheekily at his code name. Lincoln chose it himself, since he disliked Skye's suggestion of 'Pikachu'.

"Who else will be teaching us?" A student calls. She can't be older than 17, Skye observes.

"Firstly, please raise your hand when you want to ask something." Skye says, smiling. She feels like a kindergarten teacher sometimes when she has to say things like that. The girl looks sheepish. "And secondly-"

"That would be me." A male voice interrupts her as the latecomer finally appears. "Hellfire."

Skye rolls her eyes.

"Guys, this is Agent Grant Ward, or 'Hellfire'." She introduces him.

When Coulson first told her that Grant Ward had developed Inhuman powers, Skye had actually chocked on her tongue. Then she had been scared. Ward was a psychopath, and now he had the power of fire no less?

But when she, May and Coulson went to put him down, they hadn't found a power-hungry villain. They'd found a person who was downright terrified about what had happened to him, all because he ate a fish-oil tablet.

Skye's heart had ached. Grant wasn't a danger – but he was a fire risk. He was just like all the rest of her Secret Warriors. Alone and scared.

Lincoln had supported her when she decided to help Grant instead of killing him. At the time, they had been dating, and Skye always found it weird that Lincoln was so fine with her working so closely with the man who had once possessed her whole heart. 6 months later, she found out why.

Skye and Grant had kissed. When a guilt-ridden Skye told Lincoln, he had merely smiled and shook his head, telling her he knew that it would happen. Because their whole relationship was a Band-Aid to cover the gaping hole Grant had left in her heart. Lincoln and Skye broke up that night, and Grant began dating her 3 months later. There were no hard feelings. Regardless of Grant dating his ex, Lincoln still interacted with him normally. 5 months after that, Lincoln had started dating an Inhuman called Hiyori, one of the first Secret Warriors they had recruited. Now, almost 5 years later, Hiyori and Lincoln have celebrated one year of marriage, with a kid on the way. Therefore, Lincoln was slowly withdrawing from the Secret Warriors.

"Right now, you're probably asking yourself a lot of questions." Skye begins, looking at each and every person in front of her. They all vary in age, some being just teenagers; others her own age. "'Why did this happen to me?' 'How will I live now?'. You might think that you're a freak. That there is no place for you, that you don't belong. But I will always make sure there is a place for you to belong."

Skye tunes out the sound of her own voice, like she does every time. This is a speech she could say even in her sleep. It's what she hopes will inspire hope in her new students. It's terribly corny, but whenever she says these words, there's only one moment she'll ever think back to.

* * *

 _"_ _I'm even more of a monster than I was." Grant's words are soft and accepting as he stares down at his hands. "I create fire out of my hands. And that fire does nothing but hurt people."_

 _He's sitting on the hard bed in this makeshift room in their new Cage. No-one trusts him in their base, and Coulson doesn't exactly want Grant burning down the place. So they put him here, in a room similar to the one she started off in._

 _Skye's edgy. Grant Ward is a threat. But he's now also an Inhuman. One of her people. It's her fault he's like this; it's her fault that everyone is like this. Because she pushed the crystals into the ocean._

 _So now she has to fix it all._

 _"_ _You're not a monster, Grant." Skye says eventually from her place next to him. Grant merely shakes his head at her._

 _"_ _I've hurt people with these powers." He tells her. "And I can't even control who I hurt." He laughs without humour. "So what's the point of them? It's clearly some sort of punishment."_

 _"_ _This isn't a punishment!" Skye frowns at him. "The Inhuman DNA has always been within you. This is just a manifestation of your true self."_

 _"_ _So I'm destructive." Grant refuses to think positively._

 _"_ _That's what I thought to." Despite the situation, she smiles slightly. "But then I realised just how beautiful my ability can be."_

 _"_ _I can create fire, Skye." He says bluntly. "Do you know what fire means to me? It brings me back to the days that my life went to hell. The day I tried to kill my brother, and the day I actually succeeded in killing him. Fire has never done anything good for me."_

 _Skye's silent for a moment. She can't argue against that logic._

 _"_ _Grant, you might this that these powers are a curse." She begins a few moments later. "That you're a freak, a liability, a threat. That you have nowhere to belong." Skye hesitates before leaning forward, grapping his hands in hers. The touch is sudden; Grant turns his head to look at her._

 _"_ _But I will always make sure that you belong somewhere. And right now, that is with me."_

* * *

In the present, Skye smiles to herself, glancing over at him as he shows the students what he can do with his flames. Those words she said 5 years ago are still true to this very day. No matter what, Grant Ward will always belong with her.

* * *

 **Compared to yesterday, this is pure fluff!**

 **Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, followed and favourited so far! :)**


	8. Chapter 8: Paint! (AU: Family&Babies)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Three, Day Three.**

 _ **(AU: Weddings/babies/family)**_

* * *

 **'Paint!'**

Skye doesn't think she's ever seen a sight so funny in her life.

She stands in the doorway of their home, leaning against the frame with the groceries in her arms as she watches her fiancé desperately try to wrestle a laughing toddler.

"Seren, come on!" He says as he tries to grab the toddler's hands, which are coated in a mess of blue, yellow and pink paint. It's already all over the floor, sofa and a wall, not to mention coated in the girl's hair and plastered onto Grant's face. Seren waves her hands around, and collides a palm into Grant's chest, leaving a small handprint on his shirt.

The toddler giggles, clapping her hands together gleefully.

"Your mommy isn't going to be happy with you." He warns her as he uses a wipe to clean down her hands as best as he can. Seren struggles against him, frowning as the colours vanish from her skin.

"Paint." Seren says, her frown deepening. "Paint!"

"I know you want to paint, but you've got it everywhere, honey. So maybe it's a good idea to put the paint away." Grant tries to explain. To a toddler.

"Paint!" Seren yells, predictably not understanding a word of what he just said. "Paint!"

"Seren-" Grant is fighting a losing battle. Seren wants the paint; she's determined to get it.

Skye's smile widens as Seren crawls free, and decides to sit in the pallet of paint.

"Paint!" She crows victoriously, waving her hands in the air. Grant sighs, sitting back on his heels.

"Oh, _Seren."_ Skye finally announces her presence. Both Seren and Grant glance up at her, relief written in the former's eyes while Seren giggles delightedly.

"Momma!" She holds up her hands. "Paint!"

"I can see, sweetie." Skye smiles. "Grant, can you take the groceries?" Grant gets to his feet, accepting the bag immediately. As he puts the groceries away, Skye takes the toddler upstairs to give her a wash. After she's cleaned up the rest of the paint, Grant finally re-joins her. He's looking sheepish.

"She wanted to paint." He says as Skye dresses Seren in fresh clothes. Skye raises an eyebrow in response.

"And why didn't you think to put something down on the floor?" She asks him as Seren struggles to get down from the bed. Grant shuts the door before Skye lets her down. The toddler immediately goes for the small pile of toys in the corner of their bedroom.

"Errr…" Grant trails off. Skye rolls her eyes. You'd think after two years of having a kid, Grant would be used to thinking of the small things by now.

"Grant, you can barely handle one kid. How on earth are you going to handle _two?_ " Skye smiles at him before joining her daughter in a game with her toy horses. Grant stares at her for a few moments.

"You're _pregnant?_ " He yells. Seren frowns at him.

"Shhh, daddy." She tells him. "Horsey's talking." She gestures to where she's arranged her toys in a crowd, all listening to one horse currently grasped in her hands.

Skye laughs.

"You'd better get used to this." She grins. "Because now, you're going to have two kids nibbling at your ankles."

* * *

 **It's a short update today, mainly because writing with kids involved isn't my forte. I'm not around young kids a lot, so if anything seems wrong with Seren's character, I'm sorry. But I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **In other news, I've wrote a second part to my Reversed Roles AU, so I'll be uploading that into a new fic this week. So watch out for that! (It's now uploaded - check for _Inverted_ on my profile!)**


	9. Chapter 9: Sneaking (AU: Undercover)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Three, Day Four.**

 _ **(AU: Undercover Lovers)**_

 _ **[I'm not too sure if this fic actually matches the AU exactly, but this was my interpretation].**_

* * *

 **'The Shield Is Sneaking With The Snake'**

The dark envelops him like a protective blanket, hiding him from sight as he stalks through the night, his destination clear in his mind.

He's not nervous: he's done this too many times to get nervous like some kid. He knows exactly what he's doing; he knows exactly why he shouldn't be doing it.

He doesn't really care.

She's already in the room when he slips through the door, having picked up the door key at the reception. As usual, her check-in name was easy to guess. He shuts the door carefully behind him before turning to face her.

"You took your time." She tells him, rising elegantly from the bed. Her hair is loose and flowing around her shoulders. In the dim, low lighting, which casts shadows over her face, she looks stunningly beautiful. Her lips part slightly, and her eyes watch him like the lioness watches her prey.

"There was a slight hold up." He shrugs off his jacket as he moves over to her, dumping it on the corner of the bed as he steps closer to her. She closes the distance easily, until her body is almost brushing up against his. "John wanted to talk."

"About what?" She raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Or can I not know about that?"

"He just wanted to tell me about a mission we're doing next week." He tells her, his hand coming up to cup her head. She leans into his hand, gazing up at him with dark eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asks. "Killing someone?" Her words are blunt.

"Probably." His tone isn't concerned. After all, he's the 'bad guy' here: she's fighting for the good guys.

"Anyone I might know?" She whispers with a slight smile: she's only half joking. There's a good chance that he'll be killing one of her friends next week. That's how their jobs interact. She captures and kills his team mates, and he tortures and murders hers. That's the downside of fucking the enemy. When she hears his name in connection to deaths, she knows the man who killed them. She knows the eyes that those people saw in their final moments. She knows all this, and she still barely feels a shred of guilt.

"I don't think so." He murmurs. He used to be concerned about her nonchalant attitude towards him and his job, until he realised that she was acting this way to protect herself. Because if she took this all seriously, she wouldn't be able to justify what they do to herself.

"Who is it then?" She pushes her luck, trying to scrape some information from him. They are informants on each other: because however good they both are, they both crack and let a few things slip.

"First, are you coming after anyone?" He has to make sure he's getting something out of this. She deliberates whether to answer.

"There's been a capture or kill order placed on Agent 33." She tells him eventually. "Coulson wants to know why she switched sides."

He knows why she switched sides. She was brainwashed, forced to do things she didn't want to.

He keeps that a secret from the woman in front of him. If they get 33, they get her. But he's certainly not going to offer her up to them. That's too risky: John would know that there was a leak if it's too easy.

"Now you." She trusts him to answer, in a weird way. But at this point, the pair have a weird system. They trust each other in these moments, even if they don't when they meet in the field.

"Bobbi Morse." He answers. "John wants me to take her out."

Her eyes spark with recognition. She knows Bobbi. In fact, Bobbi is one of her closest friends, so it's good she bargained for that information.

"You know her." It's a statement, not a question. Still, she nods. "Are you going to stop me?" He asks her next, his eyes boring into hers. She hesitates.

"You know I have to." Her voice is a whisper on the breeze. "I- I know Bobbi."

He stares at her for a moment, his fingers curling into her hair. In this moment, it would be so easy to snap her neck, remove this problem forever.

But he knows he'll never be able to do that. He's compromised so much that it would only take the right person to look at him, and they'd know. They'd know that he's basically falling for a SHIELD agent.

The only thing that makes it better is the fact that she's also falling as hard for him as he is for her.

"On Monday morning, we're going to launch an attack on that Chinese base Morse is staying at." The words flow quickly. "We'll be aiming for her, and the computer system, so we can see what SHIELD is doing. You have just over 24 hours to do something about it."

She blinks at him. The only time he's ever told her that much information was the time that John had set his eyes on Fitzsimmons, her best friend scientists. She nods, her eyes thanking him.

* * *

He says nothing else, and merely dips his head towards her, his lips meeting hers in a gentle embrace.

When he wakes the next morning, he is struck by a few things.

Firstly, he slept, which he rarely does. Which means he's going to receive hell from John later. But he'll just tell him a version of the truth: that he lost himself with some girl in town. _No, it wasn't personal._ He can already hear himself say. _It was stress relief._

Secondly, he's alone. There's barely a dip in the pillow next to him, and the bed is cold. She's been gone a while. He's surprised that she was able to slip out without waking him. It just shows how used to her presence he is, even though he only sees her once every few months.

He sits up in bed, a frown etching itself into his forehead.

"Oh, Skye, what are you doing to me?" Agent Grant Ward of HYDRA mutters.

* * *

 **Yet again, another enjoyable AU for me to write! I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it!**

 **And I know I've said it a lot, but thanks to _everyone_ who's read, reviewed, followed and favourited this story. You are all awesome! :)**


	10. Chapter 10: Revenge (AU:Dark Skyeward)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Three, Day Five.**

 _ **(AU: Monsters Together Dark!Skyeward)**_

 _ **(This does get pretty dark in my opinion, as a small warning).**_

* * *

 **'Our Revenge (Sets Everything On Fire)'**

Coulson's hands are handcuffed behind him as he's forced to watch as Skye unlocks the force field. May and the others are still knocked out to his knowledge, bound and gagged in the storage room. Only he is here, unable to do anything but watch as Grant Ward steps out of the cell, finally free.

"It took you long enough." He tells her as he stretches his arms out, his eyes roving around. "I was starting to think you'd converted."

"You doubted me?" Skye laughs gently. "I had to make sure I'd gotten all the information I needed."

"Still. I was starting to go stir crazy." Grant brushes his lips against hers. Coulson wants to tear his eyes away, but he can't. The sight is so disturbing. Skye, innocent Skye, is kissing Grant Ward.

"I'm here now." Skye's hand trails over his shoulders. "And I can't explain how much I missed you. Although, nice move with the whole 'I'll only speak to Skye'. At least that meant I got to see you, even if I couldn't touch you."

"Skye, how could you?" Coulson finally croaks. Both Grant and Skye glance over at him. "Have you been pretending all along?"

Skye laughs, throwing her hair back over one shoulder.

"Of course I have." She keeps laughing. "And you all ate it up! Let me tell you a story, A.C." Skye stalks towards him. "Of a little girl called Mary Sue Poots. She lived in an orphanage, shunted from family from family."

"Skye-" Coulson tries to interject, but Grant stalks forward, shoving Coulson back down into the chair. Coulson swallows back his fear at this menacing figure. He's the one who imprisoned Grant down here. It's only natural that Grant will want to enact some revenge.

"One day, she had enough. She ran away." Skye continues, her voice a low crooning noise. "She snuck onto a van, and when she awoke, she ended up in a forest in Wyoming."

"Skye, what does this have to do with anything?" Coulson hopes he can get through to her. Maybe he still has a chance. He's an optimistic man, after all.

"Little Mary Sue ran into someone there." Grant takes over. His voice is sinister in this dark cell, and Coulson has to suppress a shiver. "A guy and his dog, who showed her the way."

"The way of a true organisation that doesn't pretend to be something it's not!" Skye spits. Grant drops a reassuring hand onto her shoulder, and Skye leans into his embrace. She gazes up at him, Coulson forgotten about momentarily as she takes his other arm in her hands, gently tapping her fingers down the scars on the inside of his wrist.

"You scared me when I saw these." She tells him huskily. "Although it was a nice touch."

"I had to make it seem believable." Grant tucks her hair behind an ear. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"You're forgiven." She murmurs back. Coulson can hardly believe his eyes. How could he have not seen this before? That Skye could have tricked him. How could he have not seen a thing? Seen that she had been playing them all along. Was anything real? Even how she had loved Ward. Was that just her pretending to fall back in love with him?

"Now, Coulson." Grant crouches down in front of him. "You left me down here to basically rot, didn't you? So I think a suitable punishment is in order, don't you?"

Fear prickles down Coulson's spine, but he refuses to let it show on his face.

"Skye honey, what so you think we should do to him?" Grant looks back at Skye, who thinks for a moment.

"Well, he did keep you locked up." She points out, gently resting a hand on Coulson's shoulder. "And he made you suffer."

"He did, he did." Grant nods. A few moments tick by painfully. Swear trickles down Coulson's back.

Then Grant's face splits into a wide, sadistic smile. Coulson's time is up.

* * *

"Where should we go now?" Skye interlocks her fingers with Grant's as they drive away from the base. Grant shrugs, smiling.

"We can go anywhere." He promises her. "After all, SHIELD won't be on our backs. SHIELD will never bother us again."

Skye's laughter fills up the car as they drive off into the sunset, leaving the exploded wreckage of the base behind them.

* * *

 **So yeah. This was today's upload.**

 **Personally, I thought this was super dark, although I was tempted to go darker, but thought that it would be too dark. I hope you guys liked? it anyway.**

 **There's a prompt for tomorrow too, so I'm aiming to upload that either tomorrow or Sunday, since the AU is something I'm really going to enjoy writing.**


	11. Chapter 11: Moment (AU: TAHITI)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Three, Day Six. [Bonus Day]**

 _ **(AU: T.A.H.I.T.I - If Grant had accepted Coulson's offer).**_

 _ **(This was meant to be up yesterday, but I struggled with writing it, even though I had a great idea).**_

* * *

 **'A Moment In Time'**

When Coulson told her that he had relocated Ward, Skye's first response had been that he would still come back for them. T.A.H.I.T.I. or not, Ward was still dangerous in her eyes. His personality was too far ingrained in him; he'd just end up killing someone else again, she knew it.

Coulson had given her the details of where Ward ended up – he trusted her, she guesses, trusted her not to go and take him out. Coulson had apparently pulled some favours with an old friend, some rich business woman called Lola – he has assured her that she was _not_ the one that his car was named after – and now Ward was working as her body guard. It was the perfect job for him, Coulson said. The work would be reminiscent of his old life, so he wouldn't question if anything stirred in his memories. And according to the new files, Grant Ward had been born to a different Ward family, who had raised him right.

Still, Skye didn't trust it. But she did trust Coulson, so begrudgingly she accepted it.

Six months later, Lance Hunter opens up the car door for Skye to step out, having helped Bobbi out a few moments before. Skye is careful not to snag the dress she's wearing.

Coulson sent Bobbi and Hunter off to a fundraiser, so Bobbi could try to convince some people who wanted to part with some of their cash to sponsor SHIELD. They could still use as much money as possible. Skye knows she's also here as a pity card in a sense. Originally, only Bobbi and Hunter were going, but since she hasn't really gone out since the whole Ward fiasco, instead chucking herself into her work. So May recommended she go out and relax. Skye considered refusing, but one does not refuse Melinda May.

"Come on, darlings." Hunter drawls, guiding both women towards the entrance. Skye gives him a look, stepping out of his grasp.

"Don't call me 'darling', Hunter." She tells him. Bobbi rolls her eyes.

"Relax." She says. "This is meant to be fun for you, Skye. You're off duty, so use your time to dance, drink and maybe flirt a little. Some casual sex might loosen you up, Skye."

Skye chooses not to respond to that comment.

Bobbi checks them in at the door, and they step into a ballroom filled with colour, laughter and noise. Skye immediately hates everything in her sight.

The night drags on. Skye resorts to using the bubbly champagne on offer to entertain herself while Bobbi and Hunter are off buttering the rich guys. Skye sighs, a glass in her hand, and turns around, deciding to go see if she can find a corner to hide in. The bar is no longer interesting for her.

That's when she almost crashes into Grant Ward.

Skye pulls back, the alcohol taking a stronger effect than she realised. Steading her is a familiar face. He looks at her with concern.

"Miss, are you okay?" He asks, and Skye's frozen. _I'll never lie to you Skye. My feelings are real._

"Miss?" Grant repeats, a little uncertainly. His hand is on her elbow, she realises.

Skye can't summon words; her tongue's gone thick in her mouth. She simply gapes at the man in front of her like a lost fish.

"I'm, err, fine." Skye manages to say. "Just a little drunk." She admits, giggling slightly. Grant Ward's here. Grant frowns at her.

"You look-" He cuts himself off. "I mean, do I know you?" He asks. "You look familiar."

Skye freezes. She doesn't know what to say to that. _Yeah, I used to know you. When you were a raving psychopath._

Luckily, Bobbi comes to her rescue.

"Oh, sorry. My friend's had a little too much." Bobbi swiftly cuts in, pushing Grant's hand off Skye. "Thanks for catching her."

"It's okay." Grant bobs his head. Skye can't breathe. Why is Grant Ward here? Bobbi leans against the counter, supporting Skye up. "I could go get a chair for her if you want." He offers as blood rushes to Skye's ears.

"No, no, it's fine." Bobbi assures him.

When Skye gets back to the base, she screams into her pillow. Grant Ward is still very much in her mind.

* * *

The next time she sees Grant Ward is two months later. She's on leave, so she decides to go to a café to chill, maybe read a book. Since founding the Secret Warriors, she doesn't get much time to rest.

She half trips on the doorstep to the café, nearly toppling forward if someone hadn't caught her.

Skye straightens up, glancing up to see her saviour.

Grant Ward stands there.

"You should look where you're going." He observes, scooping her book up from the floor before he hands it to her. Skye accepts it, her words once again dried up in her throat.

"Didn't I meet you at that fundraiser?" Grant asks next, and Skye nods mutely. "You're a clumsy person, then?"

"Excuse me?" Skye blinks, having zoned out for a moment or two, lost in her memories of the past.

"It's just that you've tripped up twice in my presence." Grant says hastily. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't-" Skye tries to tell him.

"Sorry." He apologises, running a hand through his hair. He's let it grow a little bit, so it's not so closely shaved to his head. More like how it was when he was in Vault D, but he's clean shaven here.

Skye half runs from the café, not even stopping to get a drink, so she leaves Grant Ward wondering why the hell she even came in there in the first place.

* * *

Skye sees him twice more after that, both times at a dog adoption home. The first time she goes because Hunter's been complaining that Skye needs to get a companion, so she thought getting a dog might be cool. She had gone to look at puppies, and had nearly fallen to the ground when she saw Grant Ward fussing over a few puppies.

Skye had once again fled, without looking at the dogs. Later that week, she'd gotten a cat instead.

But curiosity drew her back to the dog adoption home before she knew it. Grant Ward had always been part of her heart, and her heart wanted to see him once more.

"See, dogs are friendly." Grant informs her as she pets a Labrador's head. She'd somehow gotten roped into conversation with him – over dogs of all things.

"You like dogs, then?" Skye asks him. Grant nods.

"I always have." He confides. Skye wonders if that's the truth, or a new aspect of his personality. "I used to have a dog named Buddy when I was a teenager."

Skye knows that has to be a new aspect. Grant Ward never had a dog when he was younger.

"What happened to him?" Skye's curious. Grief flickers in Grant's eyes.

"He, err, died." Grant clears his throat.

"I'm sorry." Skye says sympathetically.

Skye doesn't run this time, but a part of her wishes that she did.

* * *

Skye ends up checking up on Grant Ward, finding out that he volunteers at the dog place every other week in his spare time. Other than that, his time is completely dedicated to Lola, his boss.

Skye finds herself looking at Grant's activities far too often for her liking.

* * *

Months go by. Skye keeps meeting Grant Ward in the most unlikely of places: in a library in Paris, he's reading in the corner while Skye's trying to find a guide book. In Australia, Lola's at a business fundraiser, and Coulson's also going. She and Grant bump into each other outside the fundraiser. They end up not going in, and Skye finds herself instead talking to him. He finally asks for her name – she still hasn't told him it. Nothing sparks in his eyes when she says 'Skye', but she didn't expect him to remember her. T.A.H.I.T.I. is solid.

She later runs into him in Japan. He's standing on the street opposite where Kara lives, but Skye dismisses it as a coincidence.

When Skye talks to Kara afterwards, Kara asks her to make sure Grant doesn't come there again. It upsets her too much.

Over a year, Skye starts to build bridges with this new Grant. They bump into each other so much that it would be rude not to say anything, and before long, Skye knows things about Grant, and he knows things about her. Once again, their lives are intertwined.

Coulson tells her to back off from Grant Ward.

She disobeys.

That week, she spends two hours discussing Italian literature with Grant. When she returns, May waits.

* * *

"Skye, I want to ask you something." Grant asks her tentatively as they lean against a wall. Grant's on his day off, but tomorrow he flies out to Russia with Lola. Tomorrow, Skye flies to Brazil to fight Lash. She doesn't know if she'll survive.

"What?" She glances up at him as the sun burns bright in the sky.

"Will you get a drink with me?" He asks her quickly. Skye blinks. _The last time we 'got a drink'…_ Koenig's body flashes before her eyes.

"It's okay if you don't want to." He says, backing up hastily. Skye's noticed he does that: he's anxious and he'll always just accept things. Skye knows that this is his old personality stripped down to it's core, and she doesn't know how to feel about that.

"No, that's not why I paused." Skye tells him. "It's just… I haven't been on a date in a while. And the guy I did date…" She trails off. "It didn't go well." Technically, she and Grant never dated. But it's easier to explain if she pretends they did.

Grant's earnest eyes wait for her response. Skye hesitates.

 _I could die tomorrow._

"Okay. Let's go get a drink." She smiles.

* * *

 **As usual, thanks to everyone who's followed, favourite or reviewed so far!**

 **Tomorrow begins HeadCannon week, so hopefully I should be uploading some oneshots as of tomorrow!**


	12. Chapter 12: What Are We? (HC: Moments)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Four, Day One.**

 _ **[Headcannon: Missing Moments]**_

* * *

 **'What Are We?'**

"You got some time to talk?" Grant climbs into the back seat of the car with her abruptly. Skye nearly jumps, having not noticed his approach. She's hiding out in the back of the SUV, comforting herself with the familiar interior of a vehicle.

Two hours ago, Coulson had told her about what her 0-8-4 status had done to that whole village. What her parents had done.

"Sure." Skye shrugs, closing her laptop and putting to one side. The car's not really comfortable for them to be sitting in, so it's a little cramped. "What about?"

"You." Grant says quietly. "I don't know what Coulson told you, but you disappeared right afterwards. I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Skye lets out a small bark of a laugh. Grant gives her a concerned look.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" He says. Skye sighs, her eyes still burning from all the tears she's cried.

"Let's just say, I'm not exactly who I thought I was." She settles on telling him. Skye wants her 0-8-4 status to stay secret for as long as possible. She knows how by the book Grant is, so she's not sure what he'd do with the information. Not that she doesn't trust him, because she'd be stupid not to trust him. But she still wants to keep it to herself.

"I'm not too sure what to think anymore." She continues. "About myself, I mean."

"I had a moment like that." Grant says. Skye doesn't pay attention. Her parents are legitimate _monsters._ What could he say that would top that?

"You won't know this, but when I was 15, I was arrested." He says, and Skye's interest is spiked.

"What, by-the-rules Grant Ward was arrested?" She snorts. "What did you do, shoplift?"

"Actually, I stole a car, drove 10,000 odd miles back home in the night and then torched the place come dawn." He says so calmly that it takes Skye a few moments for it to sink in. She turns around to stare at him, shock clear on her face.

"You did _what?_ Why?"

"My brother called me." Grant tells her, his eyes not meeting hers. "He told me what Christian… He'd done something."

"Christian, your brother who beat you and you brother up?" Skye checks, knowing how personal this must be to him. Grant nods.

"I was at military school at the time." He says. "My parents sent me there because they thought my behaviour was wrong. But when Thomas phoned, I couldn't stay away leaving him alone with Christian. So I decided to get rid of the problem for him."

"You mean…?" Skye whispers. Grant nods solemnly.

"I figured that killing him would solve everything. So I made sure everyone was out of the house, and then I tried to burn the place, knowing for well that Christian was in there." He says. "Obviously, I was caught, and when I was being led away, the look on Thomas's face… it haunted me. It still does. It wasn't grateful: it was horrified." Grant pauses. "So I wasn't too sure what I was after that. I'd tried to kill my own brother, and I didn't even feel guilty about it."

"My parents were monsters." Skye blurts out. "They slaughtered an entire village in China when I was a baby, all to get me back. The SHIELD agents all died, except for two. So… I'm the daughter of monsters."

"So?" Skye blinks.

"What do you mean, so?" She asks.

"So, your parents are monsters. That doesn't make _you_ a monster." Grant's figured out what she's thinking. "Your parents' actions don't make you a monster."

"How can you be so sure? Their DNA is in me, remember." Her voice is a whisper. Grant reaches out and squeezes her hand.

"Because I know you Skye. You're the least monstrous person I know." He tells her, his brown eyes painfully honest.

* * *

Later, when HYDRA comes out of the shadows and Grant disappears into their basement, Skye thinks back to this conversation. And she thinks for a moment that she understands. She gets why he did what he did. To him, he had no other choice. He had already decided that he was a monster, so he had to follow the devil himself. Since there was no redemption left for him.

* * *

Skye approaches the smoking wreck of the house carefully. He sits on the singed grass nearby, staring off into the distance. Coulson and a whole armed battalion are behind her, but she ignores them.

"You called us?" She calls out Grant as she walks over to him. Grant looks up at her. There's blood smeared on his cheek, and it's dripped onto his collar. Soot and ash settle on his shoulders.

Grant merely smiles at her. It's a tired smile, like he doesn't know what else to do with his face.

"Why did you burn the house, Grant?" She asks him softly.

"I wanted to finish what I started." He shrugs. "I failed to kill Christian then, so I decided to do it now, when I knew I actually could."

"Why?" She asks again.

"I'm a monster." He keeps smiling. "So you answer that question."

"You killed your parents and brother to make yourself feel better." She tells him coldly. "Because you are a monster."

"I never denied it." Grant climbs to his feet, slightly unsteady. "I've allowed myself to get manipulated throughout my whole life, Skye. I wanted to do something for myself for once."

"And murder was the first thing that occurred to you?" Skye asks. She knows she should take him to Coulson, but this is the last conversation they'll have most probably.

"There's a well at the end of this yard." Grant points off into the distance. Skye follows his gesture, and sees something in the distance. It's smoking slightly. "I tried to burn that too."

"Because of your brother?" She remembers what he told her about the well. To this day, she doesn't know if he lied about it or not.

"You'll find Christian's body down there." Grant tells her calmly. "He drowned before I burnt it."

Then Grant walks past her, and goes straight to Coulson.

And Skye never sees Grant Ward again.

* * *

 **It turned into a slight AU towards the end.**

 **Sorry for the late upload: I wasn't in the mood for writing yesterday.** **!**


	13. Chapter 13: Drink (HC: The Drink)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Four, Day Two.**

 _ **[Headcannon: The Drink - how do Skye and Grant get their drink?]**_

* * *

 **'Drink'**

Skye fidgets in her seat, twisting her fingers together in her lap. She scrapes her hair behind her ears, trying to find something to do with her hands while she waits.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The low voice startles her. She jumps, and glances up to see Grant Ward standing there. She swallows nervously.

"I'm not armed, as agreed." He continues, taking the seat opposite her. "But I will warn you - I have people watching this place, so if I don't come out on time..."

"So much for trusting us." Skye speaks finally. Grant gives her a wry smile.

"You never believed that I'd come here alone did you?" He asks. "SHIELD have screwed me over one too many times."

Skye chooses not to respond to that, and instead takes a sip from her water.

"I must say, I was surprised when you called me." Grant comments. "I never thought that SHIELD would turn to me for help."

"Well, you're the only force out there who can help us with Lash." Skye says, her words clipped. She's not all to happy with Coulson suggesting that she go convince Ward to help them defeat Lash. Grant gets a drink, setting it down on the table.

"So, what do I get out of this?" Grant is all business.

"Knowing that Lash won't hurt anyone isn't good enough?" Skye knows the answer before he says it. Grant Ward is a selfish creature after all.

Grant shakes his head, taking a sip of his drink.

"Come on, Skye. You know me better than that."

Skye and Grant begin to barter out terms: what he wants is impossible for her to allow, and what she offers isn't enough for him to accept.

Eventually, they decide on a agreement: she'll clear his sins in the eyes of the government so he can remain legally within America, and he'll help them get rid of Lash.

"It was nice having this drink with you, Skye." Grant leans back in his chair. "And I'm glad we could come to an arrangement."

"Remember the last time we tried to have a drink?" Skye laughs drily.

"It was bad timing then." Grant notes. "With the whole HYDRA uprising."

"Bad timing." She echoes. "It certainly was."

Her eyes meet Grant's over the table, and for a moment, she imagines what might have happened if Grant wasn't HYDRA. Maybe they would have started dating after SHIELD fell, trying to make a relationship work through all that. Maybe after she got her powers, they'd fall out a bit, especially after she disappeared off to Afterlife. But they'd always come back to each other, perhaps settling down eventually, with the white picket fence and all, kids running around her ankles. She smiles slightly, letting herself enjoy what could have been.

Then Skye shakes herself out of that delusion.

"Meet us here in three days." She tosses some coordinates his way. Then she spins on her heel and stalks out, leaving her might have been a far behind her.

* * *

 **A shorter upload, but the prompt just didn't inspire me as much as I hoped it would.**

 **A special thanks to all my reviewers: I love reading them all. :)**


	14. Chapter 14: Someday (HC: Understand)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Four, Day Three.**

 _ **(Headcannon: 'Someday, you will understand')**_

* * *

 **'Someday'**

Skye thinks that she understands now.

She stares at the mess in front of her, and the in in her hands, and she thinks she understands why Ward chose HYDRA over her.

He didn't have a choice.

He had been moulded to agree with Garrett's will, turned into a piece of clay to be shaped. He didn't have any free will of his own, not really, and that's why it never occurred to him to fight back. Him loving her was the most rebellion he could handle.

She was naive, she realises, to say that he could have just told Coulson. One can't just shake off years of conditioning, just like that. But she didn't listen to him when he told her that. She continued to live in her rose tinted world in which Ward still had a choice in his actions.

Skye gets to her feet, her legs trembling. They threaten to buckle from underneath her, but she forces them to move. Her steps are shaky as she steps through the remains in front of her. Skye tightens her fingers on the gun in her hand: it's her lifeline.

Ward told her that someday she would understand. That she would get why he chose to follow Garrett through thick and thin. Considering that's what she did with Coulson, she gets it now. He considered Garrett's word to be law, and you don't disagree with the law, do you?

Skye somehow makes herself walk away from the scene, and she ends up in a seedy motel somewhere. She sits on the end of the bed, blood coating her clothes and skin, and she dials a number. She's not even too sure if it'll connect: the number is old, after all.

"Hello?" Grant says.

"You still have this phone?" Skye says as a greeting. Grant is silent for a moment.

"Skye. Why are you calling me?" He asks stiffly. Skye looks down at her hand, which is still holding onto the gun.

"Today, I was given a choice. Let a group of innocents die, or let thousands more die instead." She begins. "I had to make a choice."

"Skye, why are you telling me this?" She wonders if he'll hang up. She keeps talking regardless.

"I let that group die." She closes her eyes. "For the greater good. And some words occurred to me. 'Someday you'll understand'."

"Skye, where's Coulson?" He asks.

"You told me I'd understand why you did what you did." She continues. "Why you killed people. And even though what just happened had nothing in common with you really, I still feel like I understand. Garrett was the one telling you to save the innocents,when you should have saved the thousands."

"Skye, you need to go to SHIELD." He tells her gently. "You're rambling."

"I think I understand." She mutters.

* * *

Skye doesn't speak to Ward again for two more years. And when she does, it's in the most unlikely of places.

"Sorry!" She apologises as she hits into someone after bending down to pick up her shopping, which has split to the floor.

"No, no it was my fault." The guy tells her, bending down to help her. And that's when she realises who the man is.

"Grant." She says softly. His eyes flick up, and he looks surprised to see her.

"Skye." He returns.

"I understand." She says simply.

* * *

 **Another short upload today - tomorrow's is likely to be short as well. This week's prompts haven't been inspiring me as much.**


	15. Chapter 15: Wishes (HC: Season 3)

**Written for Skyeward Month, Week Four, Day Five.**

 _ **(Headcannon: Wishes for season three)**_

* * *

 **'Wishes'**

"Why are you here, Skye?" Grant asks the woman sitting on the end of the bed. She scrapes her hair behind one ear, glancing up at him. He meanwhile is leaning against the door, effectively putting some distance in between them, while also blocking her best exit from the room.

"Are you here for SHIELD?" He asks when she doesn't respond. "To bring me in again?"

"If I was here for SHIELD, why would you come here?" Skye raises an eyebrow at him, finally deciding to speak. "That would be kind of stupid of you, Grant."

He notices her use of his first name. He also notices how nice it sounds rolling off her tongue.

"Maybe I was curious." He shrugs. In truth, he doesn't know why he came here. It's like he had to, like there was some sort of pull that he couldn't resist. "But answer my first question. Why are you here?"

Skye raises herself up, glancing at him almost coyly.

"I'm here because I can't take it anymore." She tells him simply. "Being _good,_ I mean."

Grant's silent: he really doesn't know where Skye's going with all of this. He wonders if she's here to distract him, so that SHIELD can get their hands on the new head of HYDRA. Well, if they try, they're likely to get a bullet to the head. He didn't come alone, after all. It's far too risky, now that he's the boss.

"I don't want to be in SHIELD anymore." Skye blurts out. Grant can't hide his surprise.

"What?"

"I don't want this life." She gestures widely. "The life where I pretend it's okay that I finally found my parents, only to have them snatched away before I'd even got a chance to know them. The life where I don't just date the nearest Inhuman in sight, just because he's the person everyone else approves of. The life where I don't have to feel _guilty_ for the fact that I made so many people Inhuman!"

"So why did you call me? I'm not the magical solution to your problems, Skye." He laughs humourously. "Go home Skye."

"HYDRA." She says. "HYDRA can give me the solution, and you know it." He glances at her. She's being serious, he realises. Deadly serious.

"I want to have the life where I can let go." She tells him solemnly. "Where I can use my powers freely. Where I don't have to worry about being perfect." Skye takes a deep breath. "So where's the sign-up sheet?" She tries to joke, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Go home, Skye." He repeats after a few moments. "This isn't the place for you, and you know it."

"Grant-" She begins, but he cuts her off brutally.

"HYDRA isn't the place for you." He tells her sharply. "Skye, we torture people. We kill, we hurt and we don't feel remorse. That's not what you are."

"Really? You don't _know_ me, Grant!" She narrows her eyes. "I'm fed up with being Coulson's protégé. What has it gotten me?" She takes a step forward. "The closest to normal I've ever had was with you."

"Go back to SHIELD." He dismisses her easily. Skye's acting out. She hasn't got much attention back at SHIELD, so she's come crawling to him. "I don't have time to deal with you." Grant goes to turn to open the door, but it stopped by Skye's:

"Wait!"

"What?" He turns around, throwing her a glance over his shoulder. "Skye, I don't have time for this, you know."

"You're not taking me seriously." She says, crossing her arms over her chest. "You think I'm being naïve, that I don't know what HYDRA does."

"To be honest, yeah, I think that." Grant spins around to face her. "I think you're being immature, running to me in the hope that I'll make everything better for you. And I can't, so can you please just _leave_?"

Skye stares at him for a few moments, before her lips form a thin line. She's made up her mind.

"No."

"What?" Grant glares at her. Skye maintains her ground.

"No." She repeats calmly. "I want in. I want to join HYDRA, and you can't stop me."

"Why the hell not?" He snarls at her.

"Because if you say no, I'll just allow other members of HYDRA to catch me. And since I'm Inhuman, they'll either kill me or bring me in. So it's your choice. Let me die, or just let me join you."

Grant's face stiffens. Skye's got him well and truly backed in a corner.

"Please, Grant." Skye pleads with him. "I want to join HYDRA. Please."

"HYDRA will destroy you." He says emotionlessly. Skye keeps blinking at him.

"I'll prove myself." She promises. "Grant, SHIELD has killed me. I don't even get to look at a computer anymore. All they see me as is a walking earth shaker. And I'm worried that if I stay any longer, I'll never escape. I'll stay there forever, and I'll end up marrying Lincoln, and we'll have kids, and _I don't want that_."

It's silent for a few moments. Grant stares at her.

"HYDRA will destroy you." He repeats, his voice a murmur. Slowly, he brushes his hand over her cheek. Skye leans into his hand, her eyes huge and honest in her face.

"SHIELD has already destroyed me." She whispers back. "So what do you say?"

* * *

 **And Skyeward Month is finally over!**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who's followed, favourited and reviewed this fic. A special thanks to my multiple reviewers:** Alkeni, Agent Daisy Skye Johnson, Bhut, Juliet Knightley, Subakun-sensei and Skyeward MusicLover.

 **I hope you all enjoyed this fic. I hope to be writing more fan fiction soon, since I have an idea for a full Dark!Skyeward fic, although I don't know when I'll post that, My fic _Inverted_ also has another chapter in progress, and of course I'm still working on _Anchor_. **

**Anyway, any last reviews?**


End file.
